Turning the Tides
by Yuoko-Tenshi
Summary: Change doesn't always mean a huge war. It can be done by the smallest things. Doing what you think is right and keeping to your beliefs when the world is against it. Even changing them when proved wrong. This are the things meant to change the world. Droplets meant to change the tides. And this is exactly what the most unlike study group at Hogwarts gets to do. RotBTD HP fic.
1. Two Reasons

All right, now I'm part of this story experiment. However, before you get to read the story, I must present you with one of Yuoko's specialties: Long, interminable introductory notes. I'd rather leave everything clear since the beginning, thank you very much.

So, here we go. **First:** This is a CrossOver of five universes, none of which belong to me. They are Brave (Disney + Pixar); How to Train Your Dragon (Dreamworks) and Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling) as of this first chapter and later two others will be included (as if you can't figure out which ones they are). However, in this particular case, the idea isn't mine either. It started with a post on Tumblr, got expanded and finally came to my attention thanks to secondlina's awesome art, which would later become the cover art for this story. Thanks to FF's policy, you'll have to ask me directly for either of the links. This challenge has become bigger, meaning a lot of the details provided by various people will be included as part of the story. I cannot credit them to me.

**Second:** The main story takes place in the Harry Potter universe, meaning this is an AU for the rest. The point is, all of the other four stories are adapted to fit this fandom, though I'll try to stick to Harry Potter cannon as much as possible. You are free to point any mistakes on this regard and can suggest or discuss interpretations of events and character but it's more likely that I'll stick to mine. **Third**: This is an experiment completely. Unlike most of my stories that are more or less planned till the end, I have only the premises for this one (that's why I don't have too many published). There are still no established couples and I'm not still sure where to take them. It's a risk but I'm too excited to wait to publish it (Sorry!).

The **Fourth** one is regarding the language. The whole thing on Tumblr is done in English, so I felt it only to be fair to post it in said language. However, as it's not my first language, I'm bound to make mistakes. Care to help me reduce them? I'll like to have a Beta Reader to scan chapters before I post them. The **Fifth** is the last one, I promise. I've been diagnosed with ADD. For practical purposes, it means that I gain and lose interest rather quickly. There are means of keeping it, of course but that means that I cannot promise that I'll finish this. Again, I'm sorry.

If, after all that babbling, you are still willing to read, I'll present you to:

**Turning the Tides**

A small round face, framed by an unruly mop of bright red hair, flashed for an instant in one of the windows of the second floor. It disappeared nearly as fast as it appeared, replaced soon after by a satchel bag falling neatly to the floor far below. Before following it, she looked apprehensively to the door through which she was able to hear the heavy footsteps coming closer by the second. It was either her father or her mother if the girl had managed to make her angry enough. In any case, it wasn't in the girl's best interest to linger there longer. She threw her leg resolutely over the window still, shifting her weight precariously on the edge. Moments later, she leapt out the window.

With the ability of someone who has made the same movement thousands of times before, the girl balanced on a huge oak branch conveniently located under her window and from there leapt to the floor. A wicked grin transformed her face into a triumphant mask as she picked up her bag. She wasn't able to hear a thing from her new position, but she wasn't about to fool herself into believing she was safe. The girl drove her fingers to her mouth and whistled with all her might. Up in the second floor, the steps became frantic –however was behind had heard her- and finally the door burst open. It meant nothing to the girl, since her whistle had called her loyal stallion and she was encouraging him to go as fast as he could.

"MERIDA!"

As fast as she was putting distance between them, the girl was still able to hear her mother's angry cry and see her face poke out of the window she went through moments before. She smirked once more as she urged Angus to run faster, even though they were already far away from her mother's reach.

At eleven, Merida Dunbroch was hardly the daughter that Elinor had hoped would elevate the Dunbroch family. Merida could even picture her right now, ranting about her lack of discipline and respect, and even threatening to cut the centenary oak that grew outside her room as punishment. Of course, it was an empty threat; since Merida's untamed magic had managed to grow it back twice already. The ancient bark still held scars from those attempts. There was no need to go for a third try. Merida slowed her horse down once she approached her territory, the stretch of woods that separated the Dunbroch lands from the nearest muggle village. She had adopted the place for her own use, distributing targets of varying difficulties, which she would shoot either on foot or on Angus' back. She boasted she knew every nook of it. It was hers and hers alone. Of course, wasn't like she had anyone with which to share it, since the triplets or any of the playdates arranged by her mother were out of the question.

Merida shivered, trying to picture the new boy. Elinor would say something on the lines "Look who came to visit you" like she didn't have a hand in setting it up. He would have been part of one important family or another, all pretentious and snobbish, preferring ladylike girls who knew the best ways how to train a kitchen elf to make proper tea and pastries. Like hell was she going to spend her last day at home like that. Particularly since her bow and arrows weren't allowed on Hogwarts grounds. Well of course they weren't allowed, due to security issues and stuff, especially since at least a thousand of in-training wizards and witches with varying control over their magic were allowed to roam free around the castle. However, it also seemed to be the perfect excuse for Elinor to make Merida into more of a proper lady, encouraging her to leave her weapons behind completely. She hadn't parted with that bow since her father had given it to her! And now she was _supposed _to leave it at home. From there to becoming a proper lady interested in hairdos and the closest cute guy wasn't going to happen anytime soon. In fact, as quickly as she was able, Merida was going to try out for her House's Quidditch team. Even if her mother had something to say about it, she wouldn't be able to do a thing about it.

In any case, being able to use her wand was already something she was looking forward to. Fourteen glorious inches of ebony wood with a Phoenix feather core, but she hadn't been able to touch it again since then. As was the case with the majority of the Hogwarts students, her wand was purchased at Ollivander's. As soon as she felt the amazing warm sensation moving from the wand up her arm, giving Merida the sense that she was able to do everything that she proposed herself to do, the wandmaker took it from her. The wand had chosen her, but it was given to Elinor in a neat box when the transaction was finished, for safekeeping. It had been kept from Merida since then by her mother's orders. She wouldn't get it back until they were back at platform 9 ¾ the next morning.

Merida let out a cry in disgust, aiming and shooting her next arrow. It hit the bulls-eye, even when she had to balance on top of Angus to fire the shot. Not being able to even touch your wand? Come on! What was she going to do, burn down the house? That had only happened once! To be fair, she was little. The wand would have been a much better tool for taming her magic than all the temper control lessons.

One last arrow on her quiver for one last target. It was a moving mark on a difficult angle, so it had taken Merida some time to master it. It had been at least a year since the last time she missed it. However, it took a most of her concentration, taking her mind off of the playdates, her mother, her wand and even Hogwarts.

The arrow hit the center perfectly, again.

By that time, Merida and Angus were both exhausted from the exercise and Merida's mind was far more settled. She leaned forward to murmur in the horse's ear.

"C'me on boy, let's go back. There's an oatmeal bag waiting for ye at the stables."

Angus neighed happily and took the road back to the main house. After all, the next morning was a great day just waiting to happen.

* * *

"_Trahendum motus._"

The voice was nothing more than a murmur, lost between layers of blankets. In between the thunderous snoring, a heavy chair started to move on its own, a slow and steady movement towards the farthest bed. On the bed, a gawky boy was waving his wand, imitating the motion that his father made sometimes with his fishing rod. The chair followed the movement perfectly and was already past the other bed, coming closer with every thug. However, just as a triumphant smile flashed across his face, the chair tripped and tilted at an impossible angle, which the boy had no way to counteract.

"_Glacius!_" He hissed, afraid the blow might wake up his father.

A thin layer of frost covered the chair, freezing it in the position it was. The boy held his breath, waiting. He didn't relax until he heard the next snore, the sign that his father was still fast asleep on the bed next to his. The boy sighed and looked to the electrical clock sitting on top the television. The flashing green lines told him that it was still too early to even be awake yet, but he wasn't remotely close to falling back asleep. He eyed _The Standard Book of Spells_ by Miranda Goshawk, which was still wide open between his arms, but ended up closing it with a soft thud after a sighing. His most recent experiment told him that practicing magic wasn't a great idea in the wee hours of the morning.

At last the boy got up, taking the book along. His objective was a large wooden trunk, which took up a great deal of the motel room that he and his father were sharing for the night. Even so, the short barefoot walk didn't pose much of an inconvenience. On his way, the boy returned the chair he was practicing on to its original position, figuring out what had happened with his spell. As it turned out, one of its legs had caught on a dent in the carpet, which caused it to tip over. There wasn't something wrong with his magic, which was actually a lot more relieving than he had believed it would be.

When the boy opened the trunk, instead of tossing the book in it and closing the lid as any normal teenager would do, he started pulling out everything and piling the contents around himself. After he finished, he put them back again, checking every book, every tag on his clothing, and every item. By that time, the boy had already memorized each piece on the supply list and knew very well that he had everything on it. However, there was something reassuring about confirming he was ready. It was as if that way he was making sure nothing _could_ go wrong.

The last item on the list he packed was his wand, carefully wrapping it in the same box it had been bought in. Twelve inches of English Oak with dragon heartstring as core. Ollivander had called it _Loyal, _but the why escaped the boy. It meant something else entirely for him. After all, he and his family had spent years believing he was some sort of _squib, _since he never manifested any type of magic during his childhood.

Getting the letter had been a wonderful and unexpected surprise for his eleventh birthday. It was made even better because he was able to see his father for nearly the first time being as proud of him as he was from of his wife. _His_ mother. She had been a great Auror that fought in the Second Wizarding War and lost her life during the Battle of Hogwarts. And now, by the end of the - according to the clock –day, he would go to the same school as she had, the same way she had done when she was his age.

A broomstick rolled over when the boy closed the trunk's lid. It was a memento of his mother, a proficient Quiddich player. His father had forced him to take it and any complaint had proven useless. It didn't matter that he couldn't ride it to save his life or that it wasn't allowed for first years to have broomsticks. The broom was going with him to Hogwarts since his plan to leave it behind without his father noticing had failed miserably. Worst case scenario, the boy would have to give it to a professor for safekeeping until he was allowed to use it. So absorbed was the boy in his thoughts that he failed to notice when the snoring came slowly to an end.

"Hiccup?"

Well, it wasn't really his name but a nickname that stuck, and anyway he never made much of an effort on shaking it. Just imagine how horrible your name had to be to rather be called Hiccup. This boy had a worse name.

"D-dad?!" Caught by surprise, Hiccup faltered, dropping the broomstick. "Still 'bit early. We're only an Underground ride from King's Cross."

The huge man weighed this piece of information, checking the clock. Hiccup returned to securing his mother's racing broomstick to the trunk's lid.

"'Have a long day ahead of ya." His father said after a while, recapturing Hiccup's attention. "Thought we could grab a good bite before ya left."

Hiccup was dumbstruck for a second. He expected something of a breakfast to go on some kiosk at the train station, nothing like this. Besides, as far as he knew, meals with his father were scarce and often uncomfortable. His father's gaze was intent on him, making Hiccup falter. Sure, breakfast with his dad wasn't something the old Hiccup thrived for, but this time was different. Now he was someone that could make his father proud.

"Right, but I'll take the first turn in the bathroom." It wouldn't do any good for Hiccup to get the second turn. His father's huge beard required a lot of maintenance.

It was a while before they were ready and were checked out of the motel. They both continued along the road to find a nice restaurant serving a good Full English Breakfast at that time in the morning. Along the way, some passers stared at them either in amazement or in curiosity, and, as far as Hiccup could tell, it had nothing to do with the fact that they had a racing broomstick secured to a huge and unpractical wooden trunk. It probably had more to do with the fact that said trunk, heavier than its owner – well, honestly, that wasn't much of a comparison– was carried almost single-handedly by his father. Well, it was completely carried single-handedly by him, since Hiccup wasn't providing much help but we're talking about a man that earned the nickname Stoic the Vast for himself on the wirzanding community, despite being a muggle.

They found a café without losing their vantage point near the Underground stop on the same line as their destination. Stoic ordered immediately, making sure to add an extra helping of guts and glory on the side. The truck was left on the ground, in the least hindering way he could manage. However, it was too much to expect out of a single meal, to be different from the others. They ate in silence, wolfing down chunks of food. From time to time, Stoic seemed to want to say something but kept returning his attention to the plate in front of him. Hiccup kept also to himself, searching furiously for something to say to his father.

"Ya… uhm, ya know.." In the end, it was Stoic the one to break the silence. "Ya'r mother would have been happy today. She always said that ya'll be a great wizard."

Hiccup raised his head in surprise so quickly that he nearly choked on his mouthful of fried mushrooms.

"She did?" As far as he knew, she had feared that he would be a _squib. _How could his dad say something like that all of sudden?

"Yeah." His father trailed off, meaning to leave it at that, but something on Hiccup's face must have betrayed his need to know more. "She said she'll tell ya all of the castle's secrets she found out on her time. That ya'll do great things, like that lad, the one with the scar."

Hiccup's face lit up at this. Being compared to Harry Potter was far beyond anything he could hope for. He suddenly had an image of him as part of the Gryffindor House like his mother and Harry Potter before him. A true Hero House indeed. This lightened his mood, so he started to ask more and more about his mother. Stoic responded as best as he could; he told him what little he knew about the Wizarding World that he had shared with his wife before he'd been banished from it after her death. He kept repeating what he had been told and anecdotes Hiccup's mother had shared with him. By the time both their plates were empty, Hiccup was actually sorry to leave and tried to keep the conversation until they reached King's Cross. However, the subway train proved to be a poor place for secrets, since a couple of other passengers started to follow their words about magic, wands and enchanted castles. They kept silent the rest of the way.

Once at the train station, in front of the wall separating platforms nine from ten, through which they already had seen an entirely family disappear, Stoic stopped.

"You know that you can go through with me." Hiccup said, stopping too.

Stoic shook his head.

"That's yar world now. Become a great wizard."

He squeezed his son's shoulder with as much delicacy as he could muster. It was as much of a goodbye as Hiccup was going to get out of him, so he just gave a nod and –after checking no one was looking- pushed the trolley through the barrier.

And thus, Hiccup entered the Wizarding World, to find a place where he could belong.

**End of Chapter**

*This chapter has been edited*


	2. The Hogwarts Express

"MoooOOOm!" Merida whined.

The Dunbroch family on the whole had arrived to platform nine and three-quarters with time enough to spare before the departure of the Hogwarts Express and Merida had been in good spirits. Hamish, Hubert and Harris, her triplet younger brothers scrammed off immediately, mixing themselves easily with the multicolored crowd of students and their families gathered and she'd made a joke about having to ask the Hogwarts staff to send them back later if they weren't careful enough. But that had been ages ago and she was about to lose her patience at this point.

Merida had hoped to find a good spot on the first wagons of the scarlet steam engine, settle her stuff and watch as the train filled, giving her time to study her peers. On the contrary, she had tailed Elinor as her mother made a point of greeting everyone she found important or to whom she had an acquaintance with. The same process would have been much more fun if she'd gone with his father, as she had gotten along well enough with his coworkers, instead of trying to match names to faces she was sure would forget as soon as possible, even though Elinor pointed out some that had visited their manor.

"Merida!" Her mother scowled. "As a member of the Dunbroch family you're expected to…"

"Get on th' train, if ye want me tae arrive tae Hogwarts at all." She interrupted, tired of the assume-your-responsibilitiesspeech. "An' we only have a few minutes left."

True enough, there was a whistle calling everyone on board. Elinor gasped, covering her mouth and searched frantically for her husband, urging him to help Merida load her truck in one of the compartments. Of course, by that time, what should have been a broom's flight ended up being terrible complicated as most of the compartments were already taken. In the end, they had to settle for one nearly at the end of the train. There was a trunk already in there but no sign to whomever it belonged. Fergus left her daughter's trunk in the compartment and Merida accompanied them to the door.

"And remember not to pick up fights or be rude to your Professors and…"

"I know." Merida whined again.

Elinor took her face on her hands and kissed her forehead.

"You'll do great, I just know it!"

"Thank ye." Merida said with honesty. It was the only thing she could mutter just before her father pressed both women on a tight hug.

The whistle sounded again and this time the train started to move. Merida stayed at the door window waving goodbye, noticing that the triplets had gone missing again. She didn't return to her compartment until they were way out of sight. When she did the person occupying it was already there.

A pretty girl of about her age with huge green eyes and a long, thick, blond braid falling on her back had busied herself with a book that wasn't on the supply list, as far as Merida could tell. At the sight of her, the girl yelped in a way a mouse would have done when surprised.

"Sorry, had tae take th' other seat. Everywhere else is full." She gave as an explanation. The girl kept quiet, eyeing her with a frightened look. "Could try tae look again though."

It would have been a pain to move all of her stuff again, without her father's help and without mentioning finding an empty seat but the girl looked absolutely terrified.

"No, no." The girl finally spoke, still behind her book. "It's no problem. You just startled me."

She seemed honest enough so Merida shrugged her shoulders and took the girl's word for it. Merida closed the door behind her and got comfortable by putting her feet on the seat besides the girl, watching the houses fly past them. The girl shared her attention between her book and her new companion.

"Mah name's Merida Dunbroch." Merida was the first one to talk, fed up with the silence. "Ye're a first year, aren't ye?"

"Yes. My name is Rapunzel Bellflower. My dad didn't want to let me come but I insisted. I really wanted to learn outside the house."

Well, that wasn't something new. Most kids, Merida included, dreamed of the day they would be able to go to Hogwarts. What was weird there was the fact that Mr. Bellflower wouldn't want Rapunzel to go. Merida was about to comment about it until she realized the name rang a bell on her head.

The Bellflowers were one of the oldest wizarding families in Great Britain, at the level of the Malfoys or even the Blacks, even if the last one's core had become extinct on the Second Wizarding War. They certainly were more important on the Magical Community than the Dunbroch but that was hardly of any interest to Merida. On the other hand, she seemed to recall a great scandal in which the only daughter of the Bellflowers had been kidnapped. They only were able to find her three years later, at the hand of the Dark witch Gothel Rosier. After that, nothing had been said about the girl. If Rapunzel was her, it kind of explained her attitude at first because she definitely was becoming more secure by the second.

"That's not a text book, is it?" Merida decided not to make a comment. "I don't remember seeing that cover."

"No it isn't." Rapunzel moved the book so she could see the cover. It read _Depths of the Dream Realm _by Sanderson Mansnoozie in golden letters on a midnight blue background. "My mom bought it for me when she bought the rest of my supplies. I already read all of the texts."

"Not a light read, either o' them." Merida crossed her arms; she hadn't even looked at them more than necessary.

"Well, I had already gone through my father's entire library." Rapunzel smiled, unfazed. "I was going to read _Where_ _There's a Wand, There's a Way _for the fifth time when mom gave me my new books. It was even better when we went to Diagon Alley to buy my wand, though."

She showed Merida a golden wand, shorter than hers, that was still somewhere on her trunk. They had talked their way out of London, which had been substituted by crop fields and farm animals. Around noon, a food cart passed by their compartment, pushed by a woman that gave them a dimpled smile.

"Anything of the cart, dears?"

Starving by this point, both girls leaped towards the woman. Merida stocked up with as many Pumpkin Pasties and Cauldron Cakes she was able to carry so Rapunzel and she entertained themselves by sharing and exchanging the food they had gotten.

"Yo, Dunbroch! Last place I thought I see ye!"

As Merida was trying to get her way past a haggis Bertie Bott's bean via pumpkin juice, an older student came into their compartment. Merida's face lit up as she recognized the blue eyes, the long and big nose and the puffy black hair.

"Mcintosh!" She greeted him. "Didn't think I'll see ye 'till we got to th' castle."

"Been finding a good place to try out a little experiment. Notice anythin' new?"

"Who in their right mind would've cared tae make you Prefect?" She asked, noticing the not so subtle attempt on the guy's part for her to notice his chest. There was a badge with a P on blue and bronze, Ravenclaw's colors. "What kind o' experiment?"

"Gobstones. Being tryin' to improve tha game for a while. Care if we come?"

"Couldn't have waited 'till ye were in th' castle?"

"Nah, perfect place tae try out tha static charm a bloke from Gryffindor suggested. So?"

Merida bowed her head so the guy gave her a thumb's up, asking her to wait. She didn't notice Rapunzel looking her in amazement after he had gone to the previous compartment."

"Do you already know people on Hogwarts? And a Prefect!"

"No biggie. He's the son o' one o' meh father's buddies from th' anti-raid squad. Meh dad works at th' Control o' Magical Creatures Division on the Ministry o' Magic. As for Mcintosh, I didn't know he was a Prefect 'till now either."

No sooner had she finished her explanation, Mcintosh returned. He was followed by two other guys, a big dark-skinned guy with a crew cut and a younger, rather good-looking one. All three of them had at least three balls. They were the size of a Bludger but they were made of glass and were filled by bright colored liquids.

"Aren't those too big to be Gobstones?"

"They're supposed tae be. One o' th' changes we're trying tae make."

"Besides, we're playing on a train." The guy with the crew cut helped with the explanation. "It'll do us no good if we have to look for the balls under the seats."

"Thought that was what my static charm was for." The younger one chipped.

"Those don't look exactly legal." It was a soft murmur that no one but Merida could hear, since Rapunzel was watching everything from behind her.

"Well, the Jack Stone seems to be working just fine." The younger guy said, he had placed the bigger ball with a golden color on a throwing distance from everyone. "I'll take the red one. House pride and all that."

"Care to try?" The guy with the crew cut asked Merida, offering her a green ball.

Merida exchanged a look with Rapunzel, who still looked scared, but all the same took the ball with resolution. She tossed it on the hall, aiming for the golden one. It was a good shot, and thanks to her archery training, she managed to aim it perfectly, even in the moving train. After her the boys took turns at doing the same thing. The first one was the one with the crew cut that had battled over the blue ball and lost, thus getting an orange one. The second was Mcintosh with the blue one and finally the younger one, which identified himself as a Gryffindor with the red one.

"Hey blondie!" Rapunzel jumped at being addressed. The Gryffindor guy held a purple ball for her. "It's your turn."

The girl looked at everyone and then back at the ball. She was still rather insecure but each of them had taken a turn and was all right. Every ball stuck to its place unless they were moved by another one, proving the value of the spell they used on them. Rapunzel took the ball and aimed for the Jack Gobstone, tossing it.

"Hey! Nice shot!" Said Merida, impressed by the fact that she managed to move hers. "But this ain't over yet!"

Outside, the orderly fields got wilder, morphing into woods and soft hills. On their compartment, each of the contestants took turns to toss a ball their assigned color to move the first one closer to the golden one that was on the far end. By the end of the third turn, Rapunzel had a clear advantage over the others and Merida's last turn had done nothing to change it. Apparently the difference between rounded objects and her arrows were more pronounced than she thought at the beginning.

Rapunzel had gotten the hang of the game rather quickly and was actually enjoying herself. When her turn came, she accepted her ball and aimed. However, the door behind her opened suddenly, hitting her and provoking the ball to fall.

"What has been happening?" Through the door came a pretty older girl with black straight hair. She already had her Hogwarts robes and, on her chest, was a badge similar to Mcintosh's. However, the colors were green and silver.

Her arrival was also ill timed because Rapunzel's ball falling caused the game to end, prompting the losing ones to release their putrid smelling liquid in the form of a gas. Compared to their size, it wasn't really that much but it concentrated on the small compartment.

"What the…?" The girl had tears on her eyes and was trying hard not to cough. Or breathe.

The group opened the windows, causing the gas to disperse as the early night air came inside. The sky had already turned a light purple color. Through crying eyes, the girl managed to focus on Macintosh's figure.

"I should have figured." She said, angrily. "You're a Prefect! You're supposed to set an example, not to encourage this sort of behavior. And on first years nonetheless!"

"Relax, Vicki." Mcintosh approached her with a conciliatory gesture. However, it was obvious the nickname wasn't welcomed. "No harm was done."

"I won't let this go that easily!"

"Then what are you going to do, Vector?" The Gryffindor guy argued. "Are you going to tell the Professors? Because, if I recall correctly there're no points to take yet and you don't even know the girls' Houses yet. What if they end up in Slytherin?"

"See? Nothin' to do here." Mcintosh got behind her and pushed her towards the door as the crew cut guy gathered all the balls and followed. She growled but in the end allowed it. "Let's just scare some kids into behaving when we arrive."

"Good one, both of you." Except for the girls, the only one remaining was the guy from Gryffindor. "We're probably arriving so get your robes. By the way, I wouldn't mind to see both of you being sorted to Gryffindor."

After he left, Merida eyed Rapunzel, who had been hiding her gaze behind her bangs.

"You 'kay?"

"That was awesome! I never knew school was going to be this exiting! And we haven't started yet!"

"Yeah. Ye know what? Tha' bloke was right I wouldn't mind sharing a House with ye."

"Whichever it is?" Rapunze asked, giving her hand to Merida.

"Whichever it is." Merida responded, taking it.

**End of Chapter**

Sorry, no Hiccup on this one. Actually, this chapter was to go all the way to the Sorting but it started to get too long so I cut it in two.

No one has volunteered as a beta, so feel free to point any mistakes you might find. Thanks to **Alsarnia **for pointing out one on the last chapter.

Read ya next time!


	3. The Sorting Ceremony

Still commenting on the train journey, Merida and Rapunzel changed into their respective robes and, true enough, they felt the machine slowing down.

"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately." A voice came thought the train.

While Rapunzel busied herself with shoving the rest of their feast onto her pockets, Merida finally rummaged throughout her trunk in search for her wand. There was no way she was going to go around without it any longer.

"Hurry!" Rapunzel exclaimed when the Hogwarts Express finally came to a stop.

The students were already trying to push their way out of their compartments, cramming the corridors. Rapunzel took Merida's hand to make sure they weren't separated in the river driving them to the small and thin platform. It was a chilly night, provoking the students to hurl together as they got out, making it harder to know the way they should take.

"I think we should go there."

As Merida was following the larger group, Rapunzel spotted a smaller one being left behind.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

The booming voice caught their attention as did the lamp that floated over their heads, proving Rapunzel right. Without letting go of each other's hands, the girls followed the small crowd as it gathered around a giant of a man. He was even bigger than Merida's father, who was considered huge by the Ministry's standard, thus making him stand a lot. Even more, he had a lot of hair surrounding him in the form of a dark mane, beard and bushy eyebrows that didn't impede his black eyes to shine with the light from the lamp.

"Firs' years follow me!" He boomed again. "Mind yer steps too!"

He started down a steep path, making everyone follow him. Rapunzel and Merida tried to get closer by dodging the students before them but the trail was too narrow and uneven to get too far. A boy in front of them managed to fall to the floor, dragging another boy and a girl, who would have started to curse if the man hadn't spoken first.

"Here yeh go. Yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts!"

He had stopped at a bent on the road that drove them to the edge of a great black lake. At the other shore, a huge castle loomed on top of a mountain. The windows glittered all over the stone walls and on the many towers and turrets that made it up, matched by a reflection on the lake water that was as clear as a mirror.

Every kid of a winzarding family imagined and dreamt of the day they would come to the castle, picturing it on their minds. Merida's stood short against the magnificence of the real one and, as per Rapunzel's bewildered expression and the loud "Ooooh!" that had accompanied the view, so did everyone else's.

"No more'n four to a boat." Their guide announced, making Merida spot the fleet of little boats waiting for them on the lake shore.

The girls took one, followed by two other. One of them had a round face and a bushy reddish brown mop of hair while the other one was dirty blond and had huge protuberant eyes.

"Everyone in?" The man asked. He had a boat to himself because not even a first year was able to fit with him. "Right then. FORWARD!"

That last word must have been some sort of magic command, because all the boats started moving at once, gliding across the water and barely disturbing the black surface. Everyone was silent, watching the castle grow as they approached the cliff it was perched on.

"Heads down!" The man yelled again, as the first boats reached the cliff.

Merida would have missed the order but Rapunzel pulled her head down, thus avoiding her already unruly hair to get tangled with the ivy curtain that hid a wide opening on the cliff's face. The trip continued along a dark tunnel that ran underneath the castle until they reached their destination. It was an underground natural harbor consistent of irregular terrain made of rock and pebbles, making it a lot more slippery than the other shoreline had been. Another student tripped provoking a lot of sneers from the trio following him. Merida was about to say something but Rapunzel pulled her excitedly; she was taking this opportunity to come up to the front.

The first years followed the man's lamp through a passage on the rock, coming out onto a damp stretch of grass right in the shadow of the castle. They were guided up a flight of stone steps were they were crowded again, this time in front of a huge oaken front door. The man then proceeded to knock three times with his gigantic fist.

The door opened wide at the signal, a young man standing at the middle. He had a slightly rounded face and friendly eyes that made him look somewhat paternal. He was also tall but in a normal way, not like the man that had brought them there. Their guide faltered for a brief moment, he seemed confused to see the other man open the door.

"The firs' years, Professor Longbottom." The bigger man said, pointing at the closest kids.

Murmurs immediately sprang to life, without mattering how nervous they were. Everyone coming from a wizarding family could recognize that name.

"Thank you, Professor Hagrid. We'll go from here." Professor Longbottom was swift on his response, avoiding any more commotion.

He stood out of the way, allowing the small crowd of students to enter. Merida couldn't stop looking around, wanting to absorb everything around her. If the castle's exterior had being imposing, it was nothing compared to the interior. She had been to manors of different important families but even the bigger one would fit comfortably within the spacious walls lined with torches. Which was even more impressive, considering this place had almost gotten down to its foundations barely eight years ago. Neither the walls, ceiling nor the huge marble staircase on the farthest end bared sign of it. There had been talk about putting some kind of tribute to those that fought there in the Governors Board but it had been opposed by most of the staff. Even if the Second Wizarding War was the most recent, it wasn't the first one Hogwarts had faced. Keeping a monument on the Entrance Hall would only be a constant reminder of the War, lost relatives and an excuse to keep wounds open.

Professor Longbottom made them follow him across the room, their feet clapping softly on the stone floor. The group passed alongside a huge double doorway from which the sound of hundreds of voices was audible, sharing light about where the rest of the students were gathered.

"Wait, where are we headed?" Someone on the front asked. Merida hasn't been the only one to hear the voices.

"You'll see soon enough." The Professor answered cheerfully as he made them crowded them all again on a side chamber. "First of all, welcome to Hogwarts. The rest of the students are gathered for the start-of-term banquet but you won't be able to join them until we have determined which House you'll be in."

An excited murmur started to form again, and again the Professor stopped it by continuing his explanation. This time though, he used a monochord tone that gave up memorization and repetition.

"Sorting is a very important ceremony because while you're here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You'll have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory and spend your free time in your House common room.

"The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin." For each name, he raised a finger on his right hand. "Each has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you're at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule-breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House cup, which is a great honor."

By the last part of his speech he was getting out of air, reinforcing the fact that he was merely reciting from memory, much like Merida did when she had to recite precepts on behavior or the like.

"Just make sure you honor your House while you're here. We'll begin shortly and don't worry; the Sorting Ceremony is nothing to be afraid of. I'll return when we're ready for you."

He left through another door, different from the one they had entered.

"Did he tell us how they sort us?" asked a girl, the one that had been pushed when the first boy fell. She had blond hair tightly secured on a braid and all her robes were soiled with mud.

"No, he didn't." A boy with a pink face with a round nose and dark brown hair pointed.

Now that she thought about it, Merida wasn't sure about the procedure either. She had discussed with her parents about what House she would be in, not about how it was decided.

"Well, the Professor said not to worry." Another boy, leaning on a corner pointed. He had short pale-blond hair. "It shouldn't be that hard."

Some of them were actually reassured but not all. Rapunzel took again Merida's hand.

"What happens if we don't fit in any House?" She asked. "Do we get sent home again?"

One of the girls that had laughed at the boy that tripped on the harbor laughed at her, making Merida frown. She had a pointy jaw with a dimple on it and straight brown hair.

"You probably end up in Hufflepuff if that's the case." The girl said with an unpleasant tone. She was accompanied by another girl and a boy, who laughed at the comment.

"Hey! That's…!"

"The Sorting Ceremony is about to start. Follow me." If Professor Longbottom noticed he had just barely stopped a fight, he didn't show it.

Merida fell behind the boy that had fallen on the harbor that still seemed quite crestfallen and Rapunzel got after her. They crossed the second set of doors onto the Great Hall.

Hundred of faces turned to them, distributed over four long tables prepared with golden plates and goblets for each one. Some of those faces actually belonged to ghosts, as proven by the pearly white they shone or the way some of them floated around. Everything was lighted thanks to the presence of thousands of floating candles midway form the tables to the ceiling, lost onto a clear black sky splattered with stars. Behind them stood another table where the teachers sat.

Professor Longbottom brought a four legged stool and placed it on the front, where everyone on the Great Hall would be able to look at it. On top, he put a ragged, dirty old wizard hat. Merida wasn't sure what was expected of them at that point. At last, a rip appeared near the brim of the hat, making it look as if it had a mouth. A mouth it was indeed, for the hat started to sing.

_An ugly hat you see standing here_

_Only, there's only one like me_

_See, I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_For years my judgment stands tall._

_I'll sort you according to what_

_You have laying underneath._

_Here we go, were would you be?_

_Will your place be along_

_The Gryffindor brave and bold?_

_Perhaps you fray best_

_With the Ravenclaw wise?_

_Are you ambitious as a Slytherin?_

_Or a Hufflepuff loyal and true?_

_Sorting you is my work_

_But you like to split on your own._

_To this, a small tip I let slip_

_Above the Lion and the Eagle,_

_Sooner than the Badger or the Snake_

_Was the Winged Hog that gathered you here!_

The whole Hall filled with an enthusiastic applause and murmurs. The hat just contented itself with bowing once to each table. After that, it just lay still.

"Trying on an ol' hat. Is that it?" Merida asked, confused.

"Professor Longbottom did actually say that it was nothing to worry about." Rapunzel tried to conciliate her. "Do you think it'll let us choose?"

"When I call your name, got on front and put up the hat to be sorted." Professor Longbottom said, unraveling a long roll of parchment. "Anderson, April."

A shy girl with bangs covering her eyes stepped forward to put on the hat. It fell all the way to her nose. It took a while, with everyone watching for the hat to say something.

"RAVENCLAW!" It shouted.

The second to the left table was the first one to burst on applauses and cheering as they welcomed their new member.

"Barry, Morticia."

This time was a girl with dreadlocks. She looked defiantly at the tables before the hat covered her eyes. In her case, the answer was almost immediate.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The left table took their time cheering. Before it had gone out completely, Professor Longbottom called the next name on the list.

"Bellflower, Rapunzel."

Her name roused some rumors, with no doubt spreading her story to those that didn't knew it already. Rapunzel gave Merida a smile and she wished her luck with a thumb's up before the Professor put the hat over her head and it fell to her nose. It took a while again for the hat to pronounce itself.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Rapunzel took out the hat and returned Merida's gesture before joining April at her cheering new table. On the contrary to her friend's joy, Merida's heart sank. Sure, she had been honest about wanting to share a House with Rapunzel and didn't considered herself to be a dimwitted but she wasn't sure she could make it into Ravenclaw. In the mean time, Bradley, Oscar got also sorted to Ravenclaw, while Bundy, Kristen, the girl with the dimpled chin, was the first one to be sorted into Slytherin. The second to the right table had their chance to cheer as she joined their ranks.

The list continued. 'Burke' and 'Cardelle' went to Gryffindor; 'Chamber' and 'Choplin' both went to Ravenclaw and 'Conrad' became the first Hufflepuff, giving the right table their opportunity to welcome a new member. At last the Professor came to the name.

"Dunbroch, Merida."

She went to the front and sat on the stool, locating Rapunzel on the Ravenclaw table. Professor Longbottom put the hat on her head but it took a bit of tugging to get it past her hair so that her eyes were covered.

"Well, not a hard one to place. Lots of courage, no doubt and a headstrong heart." A small voice whispered into her ear. Merida panicked.

_Ravenclaw, please send me to Ravenclaw. Please!_

"This is interesting." The voice continued. "You are the second person today to ask for a House where you would not shine. What is it? A friend? Well, I do advice you to not let me interfere with your friendship, because you are definitely a – GRYFFINDOR!"

The last word had been shouted at the entire Hall. Merida took out the hat and walked shakily to her designed table. She was able to exchange a sad smile with Rapunzel before she was caught up on the Griffindor's embrace. All of them were cheering for her, including the good-looking guy from the train, so she got caught up on it quickly. By the time 'Dorny, Joseph' was sorted into Gryffindor after seven whole minutes with the hat, Merida was as enthusiastic as the rest of them.

The Sorting Ceremony continued and Merida took the time while 'Fleet, Herbert' was on the stool to study the High Table. Of the people seated there, she could only recognize the one that had guided them trough the lake, even though she didn't know which the subject he taught was. Professor Hagrid took up one of the table sides all for himself, followed by a young dark-skinned woman. Merida could only guess the about the Headmistress, whom she thought had to be the one sitting on a golden high chair at the center. She was a stern woman with a severe look on her. Definitely the image she had for Professor McGonagall. Merida concentrated again on the Ceremony to receive Fellner onto their table.

"Frost, Jack." Professor Longbottom claimed.

The Great Hall went to a sudden silence. Curios as about why, Merida eyed the boy as he got to the stool to receive the Sorting Hat from the Professor. He had been the one that tried to reassure the whole group back when they were waiting on the antechamber. In the dime-light, Merida had guessed him to have pale-blond hair but in the full-lit Great Hall it looked silver. Was that even possible?

"Really?" A voice came from one of the students close to her. "Frost? As in _the _Nicholas North Frost?"

Merida eyed the boy again as the hat was put above his eyes. She did recognize the Name Nicholas North. He was a powerful wizard and even more than that, a philanthropist. He had taken to himself almost all the effort to counteract the Ministry of Magic campaign against Muggles and Mugggleborns during the last years of the Second Winzarding War. Indeed a name to bring silence to the Great Hall. However, Merida couldn't recall about him having a son.

For just the split of the second, Merida wished she had paid more attention to her mother's lectures but she quickly dismissed that thought. It was highly improbable that being on top with the gossiping would help her either with Charms or Transfiguration.

**End of Chapter**

I swear I do have trouble to get chapter to even go to about 2,000 words. Yet, here I have to split this chapter again since it's too long. Not sure if it's long by your standards but sooner or later I'll fall back to my normal pattern and I rather have them more or less the same length.

As for the story, we finally have all the players there, along with a nice cover to go with it (It's secondlina's, I'm not claiming it as my own and I can get the link to her DeviantArt account if you ask), even if its lopsided. I do promise that the next chapter is indeed Hiccup's point of view of the Sorting Ceremony and that sooner or later he'll have to have a chapter just for him to make up for all of Merida's.

Yes, I did make Neville memorize and entire speech. Slaying _Nagini_ and guiding a resistance has to give built up some confidence. Yes, writing a song for the Sorting Hat is waaaay to hard for me. I'm not even sure I was able to convey what I wanted AND it's way too much of a rip-off of the songs in the books. Sorry but it was well beyond my ability for now.

I still don't have a beta reader so; feel free to point any mistakes you might find.

Read ya next time!


	4. What DID go Wrong

In the opposite side of the Hall and still in the line waiting to be sorted, Hiccup watched Jack Frost's sorting with the same interest he'd done the others. On the contrary, the Great Hall seemed to hold its breath while the hat made its choice.

"SLYTHERIN!" The verdict came.

Some of the kids had taken a lot of time to be sorted into either of the Houses and some had been assigned as soon as the hat touched their heads. Jack Frost had come up rather quickly. He made a great deal of returning the hat to the Professor to be given to 'Grant, Page' and going to the Slytherin table. Frost walked with confidence and a smirk on his face that could be read all too clearly. He wasn't the one to be happy to be sorted there. The Slytherins were the ones that had to be glad he had been chosen to join them. Frost's confidence didn't falter, even if his sorting had the coldest reception so far. The Slytherin table hadn't been the most enthusiastic during the ceremony but now they took it to a completely different level.

In any case, Hiccup wished he had at least half of Jack Frost's confidence. Unlike the shiny Jack Frost, Hiccup looked miserable. His robes were covered entirely in mud, thanks to his earlier fall, and nearly no color remained on his face. Hiccup lifted his gaze to the ceiling, where ominous black clouds were starting to gather. With all his might, he concentrated on the image he had seen before. He was a Gryffindor. Stoic was proud of him.

Silence struck the Hall again.

"Haddock?" Professor Longbottom asked, scanning the remaining first years on the line.

With a jolt, Hiccup realized he had missed his call and, his face burning, took a step forward. The Professor urged him to get to the stool and put the hat over his head.

"Gryffindor, huh?" Hiccup could hear a small voice coming somewhere on the inside of the hat. "You sure dream big, kid and I'll make sure you achieve it. That's why I think you'll be better in HUFFLEPUFF!"

Hiccup's heart sank as he heard the last part being told for the all the Hall to hear. From the Four Houses, he had to be sorted onto the one everyone made fun of. Kirsten Bundy had proven it barely minutes before and he had had enough of being made fun of. Hiccup didn't have much time to fume about it because he felt the tug of the hat being taken off. On instinct, he pulled it back on.

_NO! _He thought, as loudly as he could. _Ravenclaw! Put me in Ravenclaw! Even in Slytherin!_

"Bold of you, no doubt." The voice returned. "And Ravenclaw material too, I can tell. However, I stick to my choice. You are a Hufflepuff. Off you go, kid."

The muffled sounds Hiccup had barely been aware off while _talking _to the hat, suddenly went full volume. Even worse, most of it was clearly laughing. The worst part was that, it was him they were laughing at.

In front of the entire Great Hall of Hogwarts, Hiccup let go of the rim of the hat, which he was using to keep it down. This caused Professor Longbottom to stumble as he was still trying to pull it off. Hiccup, face down, made his way to the Hufflepuff table with everyone's eyes on him and collapsed onto one of the empty chairs as far as he could manage from the High Table. It didn't help matters that the next on to be sorted had been Hofferson, Astrid, the girl he had toppled before. She made sure to give him a really nasty look, making his desire to disappear stronger.

"High expectations, huh?" A chubby girl with glasses asked, changing her seat for the empty one on Hiccup's left.

"Eh? What?" He asked, still crestfallen. To be honest, he would rather be left alone and didn't feel much like talking but the girl fixed on him her blue eyes. She wasn't going to let go.

"It happens a lot." She said. "Almost nobody really wants to be a Hufflepuff when they arrive. There're some that don't really care as long as they're sorted, and Muggle-borns by rule don't usually know enough to get a bad opinion. And, of course, there're a lot of people like you." Reluctantly, Hiccup found himself enthralled by her words. "Either by yourself or because of someone else, you believe that the only way to achieve great things is being in _any _other House than Hufflepuff."

She gave Hiccup a poke with her elbow, urging him to applaud when Rowle, William, the other boy he had pushed with his fall, was sorted into Hufflepuff. Unlike Hiccup, he seemed beamed, as there wasn't a better place for him to be as he took a seat a couple of spaces away from Hiccup.

"However, I'll give you some credit. You're the first one to make your disgust known so publicly." The girl continued.

"Not how I wanted to be remembered." He answered, annoyed again.

"Then don't." The girl said, categorically and surprising Hiccup once more. "Hogwarts isn't constructed like that. You'll get plenty of chances to prove yourself; it's up to you to seize them. And when you succeed, you can either say it was _because _or _despite _being in Hufflepuff. It's your choice." She forced him to clap again when a girl with mousy brown hair called Danielle Walker found her ways towards the chair in front of him. "All I ask is that you give us a chance. You'll be surprised, we even managed to win the House Cup last year.

By the time she turned to welcome the two last students, she had managed to put a smile back on Hiccup. It also matched up to when Winters, Brian, the last boy on the line, was sorted to Slytherin. The Sorting Ceremony had come to an end.

Professor Longbottom cleared the stool and the hat, giving space to a tall, severe looking witch embed on deep purple robes, square glasses and the hair pulled into a really tight bun that rested a the nape of her neck to move forward to the front.

"I would like to welcome you all to Hogwarts, whether you are returning or are here the first time." She had a stern voice and she smiled to accompany her words but, somehow, Hiccup felt as she was sizing every student gathered on the Great Hall individually. "Before we have the chance to enjoy the start-of-term banquet, I am afraid I have to give you a few short notices. First of all, as always, the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all students, as are some of the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, a list of which you can find on the office of our caretaker. It isn't allowed using magic in the corridors or in-between classes. Also, the Quidditch tryouts will be scheduled for the second week, so I advise you to check the bulletin board on your respective common room for more information. And finally, enjoy your meal!"

"Well, that's Professor McGonagall for you. She's Hogwarts Headmistress." The chubby girl said for the new arrival's sake. "In any case, you'll do well on following her advice."

Hiccup hadn't realized how hungry he was until the platters in front of him suddenly filled with the most varied meals he could put a name on, and some he couldn't. He was as amazed by the quantities and the way they appeared as much as the Muggle-borns that had also been sorted to Hufflepuff were. When his mother had been alive, she had often used magic to cook, but it had been a long time since he saw such an example of magic applied to a mundane, everyday thing. Add that to the fact that, even if he was never left to starve, cooking wasn't Stoic's strong suit at all. They actually ate better when it was Hiccup's turn to prepare the food.

Hiccup started small, putting on his plate little portions of everything that was close to him. It didn't last long, for as soon as he tried his first spoonful, he changed his strategy to just stacking his plate with bacon, sausages, lamb and a funny looking fried fish. Maybe it was his chance to finally gain a bit of muscle. Or a heart attack. It made no difference; everything was delicious.

"Yeah, that's Professor Spinnet. You'll have her for Defense Against the Dark Arts and the one next to her is Professor Hagrid. You won't have him until your third year and only if you take Care of Magical Creatures." Hiccup caught up a bit of the conversation between one of the older students and Shane Mayborne, one of the first years.

On Hiccup's side, the chubby girl was busy explaining what where the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes to Opal Jones and on the other, there was a discussion over which of the Quidditch teams had a better lineup for the next season. They even asked Hiccup's opinion until he confessed that he hadn't been following the League. There were some older students commenting on the Hat's song, which apparently was kind of odd, for a singing hat. It was definitely a plus to his old life, even if he had ended up sorted on Hufflepuff. In his last school, he had been constantly shunned by his peers due to the weird things that happened around him and his tendency to blow up science and art projects. Here, the environment was completely different, and everyone made an effort to include the new ones, giving advice and tips or telling anecdotes and stories of their own.

Every food platter was filled with pastries, sweets and tons of ice cream. Hiccup thought he was already full but that didn't impede him from eating as much as he could. An athletic guy with a round nose, green eyes and a lot of freckles rose from his seat and came to stand in front of Hiccup and behind a couple of the first years, putting an arm around each.

"Hello there!" He said, cheerfully. "Is Prefect Saph already giving you newbies instructions?"

"Shut up!" The chubby girl on Hiccup's left responded, slightly pink. It was the first time Hiccup noticed the bright P badge on yellow and black that was on her chest. "Yes, I'm a Prefect. My name's Sapphire Grint. This is…"

"Logan Mirkwood." He interrupted her. "Your regular fifth year. What about you? Let's see… Danielle, Opal, Shane, Hebert, Alexis…"

"Hiccup." It was now Hiccup's turn to interrupt when he saw Logan point at him as he had done with the rest. Logan looked at him curiously.

"Hiccup? Really?" Hiccup nodded. " 'll right then, Hiccup. Next are Lexi, William, Pluto and Pearl. Am I right?"

"Yeah!" one of the girls, Opal, applauded as she had seen everyone nod at the correct mention of their name. Logan responded with a mock bow.

"Thank you lass! I'll be here all year!"

"Stop fooling around." Sapphire cut him, though she didn't seem that mad. "You'll end up without dessert."

"Not a problem." He responded. "Too stuffed now and the elves will still have some later."

"You _aren't _going to…" Sapphire began.

They didn't figure out the rest of the sentence, as the desserts also, disappeared from their plates and the table was once again clear. The Headmistress stood up again and the Great Hall was drawn to silence by just that. Logan quietly slipped back to his seat.

"Once again, I welcome all of you to Hogwarts." Professor McGonagall said. "Now, to bed you go. As of next Monday, I expect you all to do your utmost to improve your education."

"Come on guys, follow me." Sapphire herded the first years together. "I'll show you to our common room."

Hiccup rolled with the group as the students agglomerated around the double doors that led out of the Great Hall. All the excitement and the food had left Hiccup awfully tired with nothing more on his mind than a comfy bed to collapse in for the night. Rather than to the other Prefects, Logan was the one to join them as they followed Sapphire. A large portion of the student body went up the marble staircase, but the new Hufflepuffs were instead guided down one of the secondary staircases to the basement level. There, they had to follow a narrow pathway to a shadowy stone recess where a pile of barrels were stacked on a nook on the wall. Hiccup was sure he wouldn't be the only one to pass by them if Sapphire hadn't stopped and pointed specifically at them even when there was a small ring of Hufflepuff students waiting on some sort of queue.

"Here." Sapphire said when they finally got to the barrels, pointing at them. "Two from the bottom; middle of the second row. Now pay attention to this. It's important."

She tapped the barrel she had indicated. Two quick taps, a pause and then three more. As she did this, the lid swung open, revealing a narrow, dark passageway.

"The rhythm is what matters the most." Sapphire explained. "It hasn't changed since Hogwarts founding and it won't change in the future but you have to be precise."

"Yeah," Logan quipped. "You don't wanna become _saladdies._"

"What's a _saladdie_?" Pluto asked.

Sapphire was about to respond but Logan covered her mouth.

"If you mess up with the rhythm, you'll find out." He answered, mischievously. "Now, come on, after you."

They took turns to crawl through the passageway. When Hiccup reached the end, he found himself on the first of three circular tiers, the largest one on the farthest end. It was like nothing he had seen before. The different tiers were united by a couple of steps each, giving some sort of privacy even if they were still the same room. All of them were filled with puffy and comfy yellow chairs, study tables and bookcases in the House colors. The largest and farthest level had a huge fireplace as its centerpiece, surrounded by low chairs and cushions and some heavy cans with various utensils to roast treats. All the walls were decorated with round portraits of important Hufflepuffs, including the founder, Helga Hufflepuff (as it read on the tag). They were sandwiched between round windows depicting a dandelion field at nighttime, which, according to Hiccup's calculations, had to be created by magic, as they were still in the basement. All over the walls were drawings of sunflowers and trees, that were intertwined with real ivy with curious little yellow flowers that smelled like warm beer. The ceiling was a sky blue stretch towards which the trees were drawn, and a huge, lamp shed a silvery light acrosss the entire common room.

Logan guided the boys towards the left side of the matching round yellow doors on the second level. It led to another narrow hall with seven doors like the one they had crossed before. Logan pointed to the fourth one.

"That's your dorm." He said, going to the opposite direction. "Fifth, years are two doors away in that direction; feel free to ask if you need anything."

The five boys followed his instructions, even though they weren't needed thanks to the inscription on said door. Their bedroom was also circular, with five beds with yellow curtains half embedded in nooks on the wall. Each of the beds was supplied with a set of shelves and drawers on the side and a wooden truck at its foot.

"They already brought our stuff." Herbert pointed out, even though it wasn't necessary, most of them were already rummaging their trunks in search of their pajamas.

Every bit of his exhaustion weighed heavily on Hiccup at that very moment so, with little though to the scribbled note attached to his trunk, he fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

**End of Chapter**

So, there you go, a Hiccup chapter! Hope you like it…

And you can also thank Lily meet Ginny, that took the time to beta it even if she's so full now.


	5. Making an Impression

Finally on the East Wing again, Merida rushed forward to get to the Greenhouse Number 2, where she had been expected to be a few minutes earlier for her first Herbology class.

A delightful coincidence had given the students at Hogwarts an entire weekend before their classes started. Since Merida had already arrived with her mind set on discovering everything there was to know about the castle, she saw this as her opportunity. While most of her classmates got to sleep in, read, or pass the time in Gryffindor's common room, Merida had gotten out of there as early as she could. She had even invited her roommates, but none of them where very interested in exploring. On the contrary, Morticia and Morse had preferred to stay behind and listen to Anette's story about how a '_cineema'_ was. By Monday, Merida was pretty much the only First year that could navigate Hogwarts castle without getting lost.

Of course, being able to know your way didn't mean that the door at the end of the Magical Inking and Toning Corridor would consider her _please _sincere enough not to send her the other way back to the fifth floor. As a result, Merida was running late, cussing her way to the greenhouses.

It's not that Merida would mind about getting late for class but, come on! Herbology was thought by Professor Longbottom. Longbottom! One of the best-know Heroes of the Second Winzarding War! He had fought in the Battle of Hogwarts and was one of the leaders of the Resistance during the Dark Year of Hogwarts. That class had to be awesome just because of that and it had already been delayed for a day.

On Wednesday, Morticia had gotten the small notice on the bulletin board that Herbology was cancelled for the day. It would have been awesome, if it weren't for the fact that Merida had ended up using the free hours to work on her reports for Charms, Transfiguration and even Defense Against the Dark Arts. Not how she wanted to spend the afternoon, or the rest of her school career, for that matter.

Merida was supposed to fall from one adventure to the other, as Harry Potter had done every year he'd spent at Hogwarts. Hermione Weasley had done the same while keeping top marks in everything! On the contrary, the only thing Merida had managed on her own was finding her way through the maze-like corridors of the castle, something that every second year student was able to do, since it didn't involve any of the secret passageways and shortcuts Merida was sure were around. She was supposed to spend her free time in the Dark Forest (Who cared if it was, well, forbidden?), not closed up on the Gryffindor tower doing homework.

A sigh of relief escaped Merida as she finally caught sight of the Greenhouses. However, as she got closer, it was clear that something was wrong. It wasn't such a good start that Gryffindors shared that class with the Slytherins so, with no Professor on sight, the groups were clearly divided. That was nothing new to, but both sides were clearly preparing for a fight. Thor Burke, a boy with brown ruffled hair and large front teeth was on the floor, apparently having slipped and bumped a Slytherin.

"Seriously? Again?" Kirsten Bundy, the girl that had been insulting Hufflepuff even before being sorted, had been the one affected.

It just had to be Thor's luck. She had laughed at him before, when he fell getting out of his boat at the underground harbor, but this time she wasn't amused at all. Merida quickened her steps.

"How do you expect to make the simplest spell work if you can't even keep yourself on your feet?" Kirsten continued in a menacing tone.

"Why don't you pick on someone yer own size?!" Merida fumed, finally catching up. She offered the boy a hand to help him up. Once he was on his feet again, she shot an angry look to her Housemates, neither of which had moved a finger to help Thor.

"What are you gonna do, little Weasley wannabe?" Kirsten asked, laughing. Most of the Slytherin laughed with her. "By Merlin! If they keep taking people like you, It's no wonder Gryffindor hasn't been able to win the Cup since Ginny Potter left the school. And then things like Hufflepuff winning happen."

"Whatever ye say. Haven't heard of Slytherin winning since before 'at." Merida retorted, frowning. Inside her pocket, she grasped her wand. She wanted to keep it close but there was no reason for her to take it out… yet.

Kirsten stopped laughing immediately, her face turning red with anger.

"I'll show you how I'll be the one to change that." She threatened.

There were gasps everywhere. Kirsten did take out her wand and was pointing it at Merida, which stood right in front of her, defiantly. Merida was confident on her dueling skill; it had translated well enough from her weapons to her wand, so there was still no need to go all the way out, not with the pending threat of a teacher coming their way.

One of the few girls that hadn't laughed before, a short one with her blond hair tightly braided, clutched Kirsten's arm, muttering something along the lines of '_What are you doing?"_

But the damage had been done.

"Actually, last year Gryffindor and Slytherin were too busy fighting each other to stay in contention for the Cup." Professor Logbottom's voice stopped everyone. Behind him, a few of the boys from both Houses were peering over, finding the source of the commotion. They all had a bunch of towered clay pots with them. "They nearly emptied each other's hourglasses. Hufflepuff had some good stuff going on for them too so they deserved the win. Now, is there something the matter?"

None of them said a word. Kirsten shoved her wand away but Merida was sure Professor Longbottom wasn't fooled; he had merely chosen to ignore whatever had happened.

"Hold this here, please." Professor Longbottom passed the pots he was carrying to Thor in order to free his hand to open the greenhouse.

The class was allowed to enter and the boys were instructed to set their load on one long counter at the side. The rest just chose seats at the smaller, unevenly distributed tables in front of the blackboard. As expected, both Houses sat as far apart as they could on the cramped space. Kirsten shot a murdering glance at Merida, taking seat at the table of the corner. She had clung to the white hired boy's arm as soon as he had let go of his pots. Merida held her gaze, while she took seat at the other end, alongside Morticia and Elliot.

"All right, let's get something clear." Professor Longbottom started, his arms crossed. "The House Championship is meant to stir completion between students and make them thrive to be better. That's the theory.

"In practice, it has roused some petty rivalries that one too many times have gone too far. Same goes for the purity of blood belief, but that's a completely different matter. Take them even farther and you have a full blown war." The class stirred. "Which, unlike of what most of you think, is not a place to make heroes. It's a place to break families.

"However, you're barely eleven years old. I'll let this one go. If I see or hear any of you do any of this nonsense again, I'll make sure you learn to work together. That means I'll assign you inter-House seats, no complaints allowed. You'll have to keep them all the way to your seventh year. This isn't only for my class, we teacher do talk. Now, do any of you have any questions?"

Twenty hands rose in unison. Merida's was raised as far up as she could manage without getting to her feet.

"Regarding Herbology." Professor Longbottom corrected. "I'll not be talking about the War. Professors Binns and Spinnet will cover the topic eventually."

He was unfazed as every one of the hands went back down again.

"All right, let's try a different approach. Can anyone tell me why Wolfsbane cannot be cultivated?"

The blond girl from Slytherin was the one to answer, getting the five points promised for her House. The rest of the class went by taking notes on simple and basic care for the plants and fungi that could, in fact, be cultivated. For the last hour, Professor Longbottom assigned each of them one of the clay pots to be filled with a precise mixture of earth and a fertilizer with a pungent odor for their year project. Merida sighed. Even if it had been an interesting start, Herbology class ended up being just like any other of the classes she had taken so far.

At least, that was until the bell rang. Everyone just gathered her supplies and Merida was doing so while trying to avoid covering everything with dirt. She had forgotten her dragon hide gloves back on the Gryffindor tower and was forced to work without protection.

"Dunbroch, Bundy and Burke, you'll stay behind."

Merida winced when Professor Longbottom called her name as she had hoped to get away without punishment. Kirsten and Thor stayed behind too. Thor looked absolutely terrified and, for once, Kirsten didn't look as smug as she usually did.

"Bundy, I'll take fifteen points from Slytherin for pointing your wand to another student. And you'll have to serve detention under Filch." Professor Longbottom sentenced. Kirsten was about to protest, probably accusing Merida, but Professor Longbttom stopped her with a hand gesture. He sent her off with a note to Professor Spinnet, explaining Kirsten's tardiness.

"As for you." Professor Longbottom continued, making Merida wince again. "Dunbroch, you'll be surprised at what a Professor can read from the students. You had your wand ready, didn't you?"

Merida didn't answer but she didn't need to. Her face told the Professor as much as he needed to know.

"Actually, I'm glad that you didn't. It's not just because you're in my House but because it says a lot about you. However, you still need to choose better your fights and course of action. I'll give you five points for standing up for a classmate. That leaves Burke."

Thor wasn't able to hide in how much panic he was in. Professor Longbottom however, smiled at him reassuringly.

"I just wanted to assure you that, even though it doesn't look like it now, sooner or later you'll find a way to repay Dunbroch and help your House. You just have to persevere."

The change in Thor was instant. He was still crestfallen but raised his head and smiled shyly. Merida could see that he didn't entirely believe the Professor but he wanted to.

"Come on." Professor Longbottom said, rising from his desk. "I'll escort you to Transfiguration and get Professor Nichols off your backs. I still have to prepare my next class."

Merida and Thor followed him, each of them in their own world,

Owls poured onto the Great Hall on Wednesday morning, the same as they had done every day since he was at Hogwarts. They made a lot of noise, stumbling with each other as they searched their owners or intended recipients, and dropped parcels or flung the pieces of parchment they were holding. Even if Hiccup had known for years that owls were the wizards' preferred mean of communication, the sheer amount of owls that could fly in the Great Hall continued to be awe inspiring.

As Hiccup was studying them, a reddish-brown dot owl altered its flight pattern and moved decidedly in his direction. This surprised the boy, leaving him with a spoon halfway to his mouth. He hadn't received any type of mail and wasn't expecting it either.

" Gna!"

The confusion cleared as one of the girls from his House recognized the owl. Just in time, Hiccup reacted by impulse, rising his bowl of porridge just in the nick of time for the bird to bounce off the same exact spot and land on a brioche tray. Lexi stood up to rescue her owl but the bird didn't seem to enjoy her attentions. Gna was well enough, however, helping herself with some of the ruined pastries. She just tossed the parcel on her owner's lap before taking up flight again.

"Stupid bird could mind to be more grateful." Lexi mumbled but Hiccup was fixated on the shrinking figure on the owl, suddenly losing his appetite.

Hiccup wasn't expecting any letters but, just the fraction of a second he thought he would get one had stirred something inside him. He was well aware that Stoick wasn't good with words and writing didn't come naturally to him. He wouldn't even send a note asking why Hiccup, who was definitely so inclined, hadn't written. Still, he would respond if his son wrote.

Except that Hiccup hadn't managed to do it yet.

He had started on various occasions. After all, nobody could be at Hogwarts for a day and have nothing to tell, more so after a week or two. Hiccup had actually managed a good start. He had been one of the two students that completed the Babbling Beverage during their first double Potions class. It meant that Professor Slughorn had to divide the Fungicide Potion he had promised as a reward, one that would become in handy for Herbology; but Hiccup had been fine with it. The Slytherin girl that also managed the potion? Not so much.

It proved true, as Professor Longbottom later on the week announced they would be doing some kind of orchard project during the whole year. It wouldn't have been the most exciting of classes, save for the fact that Pluto had messed his password to the Hufflepuff common room that same morning. As it turned out, it you tapped it wrong, the barrels would shoot something that strongly smelled as vinegar but wouldn't wear off in at least two days. Pluto's status as a _saladdie, _meant he smelled delicious to a nearby Fanged Geranium that bit him on the arm. Professor Longbottom had to reduce it in order for it to release Pluto but it hadn't been so bad as to require a trip to the Hospital Wing. Hufflepuff shared that particular class with Ravenclaw and one of the girls knew enough about healing to soothe the injury enough that Pluto could keep working.

Charms hadn't been that great. Professor Flitwick had congratulated Hiccup on his words and wrist movements, right before his wand slipped and hit William at the back of his head. It left the blond guy with a really ugly bump that was a weird shade of purple, but Professor Flitwick was unimpressed. Astronomy was even worse, and mostly boring. Hiccup still couldn't make heads from tails on the charts they were given.

Indeed, Hiccup had a lot to tell. However, it didn't matter how he started or how far he'd managed to write, he always stopped the quill at the sentence that stated he'd been sorted onto Hufflepuff. Honestly, he had come to terms with it himself. A list of accidents had followed him along the classes but they weren't off from the ones by other students. True, he held the record for more times doused in vinegar (thankfully averted the days prior the first Herbology class) but everyone on his year had been a _saladdie _at least once in the week. It wasn't something completely terrible either. At least, it wasn't as bad as the fact that the older students hadn't forgotten about Hiccup's attempt to force the Sorting Hat into changing him to another House.

However, something kept Hiccup from putting it on paper. Stoick pretty much considered Gryffindor the only House at Hogwarts but he was aware that out of the other three, the Hufflepuff House was better known for… well, nothing really. In other words, Hiccup needed desperately something to compensate for his sorting (his grades alone wouldn't cut it).

"Hiccup!" The sound of his name jolted him back to reality. Shane was waving a hand right in front of the parchment he had been doodling on. "You 'kay, mate?"

"As good as it gets." Hiccup assured him.

"Then explain to Opal that broomsticks are better than cars."

"It's physics." Opal, a dark skinned girl with thick curls retorted. "Those things go at the same speed a car but several feet aboveground. Without belts. No, thank you."

Hufflepuff first years had been scheduled flying lessons that same afternoon. Most of them were excited but Opal clearly preferred to keep her feet on the ground.

"Phy-what?" Shane continued. "Why would you want to put walls on a broom?"

"There's nothing much to be done there. Lessons are mandatory." Hiccup interceded. However, seeing the girl turn an unhealthy shade of green, he tried to appease her. "We'll start small and just make sure to pick the shabbiest broom. It won't go faster than a bicycle."

Hiccup had already seen the brooms as Madame Hooch, the flying teacher and Quidditch commissioned, had summoned him on the first day at Hogwarts. The note he found attached to his trunk after the banquet, asking him to meet the tall witch with the yellow eyes of a hawk had been exactly what he expected. The motive had been obvious. Hiccup was reprimanded for smuggling a broomstick, even if first years weren't allowed to have one.

Madame Hooch had been mostly annoyed that Hiccup didn't bother to make a better effort on hiding it and it didn't take much to convince her that it had been to humor his father (a muggle). After that, she proved to be a softie by foregoing the detention and by not taking points from his House. The broom, however, was indeed confiscated but Hiccup would be allowed to use it on the flying lessons.

Opal still didn't seem convinced so Hiccup tried to think of a different approach.

"My sister told me that she can help." William saved Hiccup from his predicament. "She says that most Muggle-borns are scared of flying but the Quidditch team has a way of curing it."

"Can they do it before the lesson?" Opal seemed keen to try out anything.

"Well. My sister has Arithmancy but I think the Captain is free…" William seemed taken aback by the attention so he tried to mask his embarrassment by adjusting his glasses on his nose.

Hiccup, however, was in a completely different world. How come hadn't he thought of it? He couldn't be part of his mother's House but he had her broom. The second best thing to being in Gryffindor would be to become as good as his mother had been at Quidditch. That could be done even in Hufflepuff.

True, Hiccup couldn't even ride the thing, but all of his attempts had come after his mother's death, meaning he hadn't had the proper guidance. Madame Hooch was renowned on the faculty as being able to make anyone fly properly and Hiccup didn't have to be as good as Harry Potter and get to play on his first year. He had a whole year to train before the tryouts.

It wasn't exactly a short term plan but it was the best thing he had for now.

With barely a word to the rest of his year, Hiccup sprinted out of the Great Hall. He still had time before the Defense Against the Dark Art class for a small visit to the library.

**End of Chapter**

I think I need to excuse Hiccup, he's kinda in a dark place now. I assure you I have nothing against Hufflepuff and, in fact, I wanted to be sorted there on Pottermore. I was pretty much pissed when I ended up in Gryffindor instead. Just like Hiccup, I've come to terms with it. It's not like really any House will benefit much from having me there.

On another note, someone asked me on a review about the shipping. I already gave the reviewer the answer but figured you might be interested too.

As it was stated on the first author note, I was very vague about the shipping and the story in general. I'm glad to tell you that both are far more defined now. It's actually becoming quite lengthy, exploring all seven years. Anyway, the thing is, there will be no couples on this particular year. As for later, let's leave that as a surprise

Thanks again to Lily meet Ginny, for allowing me to pester her to beta this story.

See ya on the next chapter…


	6. Flying Lesson

Defense Against the Dark Arts had rapidly become one of Hiccup's favorite subjects. Professor Spinnet really knew her stuff and had been able to make a lasting impression on them the first day by producing a silvery misty robin right in front of the class. She had claimed it to be one of the most powerful white magic spells, known as a _Patronus Charm_. Some of the students knew enough about the spell to be impressed, and those who didn't had a masterly explanation about it being used to repel Dementors, creatures that could suck the happiness and souls out of people, and to rapid, authenticated messages. To the students, the spell got a lot of points in awesomeness simply because none of the Death Eaters had been able to produce it and because it was unique to the caster, making it impossible to be duplicated. Professor Spinnet even named the form that it took for some of the better know wizards and witches of their time.

Right when she had them wondering what form would the spell take for them, the Professor announced that they wouldn't be covering it, or anything of the sort, until at least their fourth year. Protests didn't take long to spread.

"Boggart bait!" Having cussed higher that she intended, Alexis Harper blushed bright scarlet when the entire class' attention directed towards her. She crossed her arms and continued on a more leveled tone. "Well, it's true. We'll never get to learn the _Patronus Charm_."

"Nonsense!" Professor Spinnet dismissed Alexis' comment categorically. "And five points for swearing in class."

"No!" Alexis, still looking like a mature tomato tried to defend herself. "My aunt told me that none of the teachers for Defense Against the Dark Arts lasted more than a year."

"So this is what this is all about." To the class surprise, Professor Spinnet relaxed her expression and smiled. "Good try at making me teach you advanced spells that you won't be able to manage. Indeed, I did have six Defense Against Dark Art professors during my time at Hogwarts. But that's ancient history by now. This is my fifth year in office so, no need to worry."

She had then proceeded to ask mercilessly on her subject to determine their levels and to further quail any protests. Even though counter-curses weren't as impressive looking as the silver robin, Professor Spinnet had managed to capture their attention during the entire class. It had stayed true for the subsequent classes, when they finally moved on to practical rather than theoretical approach.

However, that Wednesday, nothing seemed to capture Hiccup's attention, not even when he got hit by a Leg-Locker Curse he was supposed to deflect with the Shield Charm. His mind was far away on the Quidditch pitch, where he was imagining himself wearing the yellow Hufflepuff Quidditch robe. Pretty much the same happened during the Transfiguration lesson, rendering him as the only one that still hadn't made a change on the match they were supposed to transform into a needle. Since Herbert and Pluto had already managed the feat, it earned Hiccup a long essay on the theory plus practicing the transfiguration, under the threat of putting him in tutelage from another student. They would already be moving on to the _Glisseo _spell soon and Professor Nichols made a point of not wanting him to be left behind. Hiccup accepted the extra homework gloomily, but even that didn't linger on his mind as he ran towards Hufflepuff common room to leave his stuff and finally get some lunch.

In the Great Hall however, he found that the devilled kidneys didn't look as good on his plate as they had on the tray. Actually, most of the class had been rendered in a similar state, except for Danielle, that reacted to her nervousness by eating double. Opal had gone back to ranting about security, managing to iworry Pearl and Herbert, neither of whom had ever been on a broomstick before. On the contrary, Shane was giving them unwanted advice, until Alexis shouted at him to shut up. It ended up with the both of them engaged in a dispute, but these were already so common that the rest of the House simply ignored the quarreling duo.

The flying lesson was scheduled for two forty-five, so Hiccup and the rest of the Hufflepuff first years left for the Quidditch pitch around that time. There were huge, dark clouds lingering on the horizon, promising a heavy rain during the early hours of the night. In the meantime, the weather was a bit chilly but otherwise perfect for flying. As was stated on the bulletin board, Hufflepuff were to share this class with the Slytherins but, thus far, none of them had arrived. Madame Hooch, however, wasn't about to let them waste the time. They helped her gather the broomsticks and line them up on the practice ground outside the ring. Even from there, the huge golden goals were visible on both sides of the five hundred feet long field, and the spectator towers in the middle just made it more foreboding.

Madame Hooch honored her promise, handing Hiccup the broomstick that had belonged to his mother. It was an older model, reminiscent of her last years at Hogwarts but the old Cleansweep Six looked far better than the school ones. After all, she had always taken good care of it and, Stoick had continued to do so after she died.

By the time Hiccup and the others left the broom shed for the last time, the Slytherins had arrived and were scattered around. At the sight of the brooms, even the smug looking foursome standing to the side went forward, trying to seize one of the few brooms that didn't look as if they'd seen action at the Battle of Hogwarts, as in poking giants kind of action. There was a silent brawl for them and a burly Slytherin, bigger than any eleven years old had any right to be, saw Hiccup's broom and considered him an easy enough prey to go for it. Madame Hooch, already tired of the struggles avoided it just in time.

"Put your dominant hand above the broom." She commanded in a no-nonsense attitude. "Now the incantation."

"UP!" Twenty voices bellowed in unison.

Hiccup's broomstick didn't even stir. He repeated the order, this time in a murmur, hoping to go unnoticed among the rustling and shouting. Nothing happened.

"Once you've tamed a broom, there's no need for summons." Madame Hooch loomed over them, correcting postures or giving advice. "For now, make your summons more commanding! Six more tries. Go!"

Half expecting the teacher to tell him off as useless again, Hiccup raised his head, diverting the attention from his still immobile broom. He was sure that all the class had the brooms above the ground but instead, only one Slytherin, the white haired boy Hiccup had seen during the Sorting Ceremony, had managed the feat. He was currently talking lightly with a brown haired girl with a dimpled chin that apparently had no intention of continuing the exercise, while the broom stayed faithfully to his side. As Hiccup watched, the blond Slytherin girl he had tied to in Potions got the broom to rise on her third try and from then on just looked defiantly at everyone else, waiting for more instructions.

The rest of the class had varying degrees of success. By their fourth attempt, Shane and Alexis had only been able to lift off their brooms on an angle. Alexis even got to catch hers before it went back to its original position, forcing it to stay by her side the way it was supposed to. Shane wasn't so quick so his fell to the ground again, much to Herbert's delight since he was the one most targeted by Shane's so-called advices. The Slytherins weren't any better off; with a couple of twins fighting with their brooms instead of summoning them.

This didn't appease Hiccup one bit. He had his reasons to master the broomstick.

"UP!" He commanded again, his brow frowned. The broom stayed where it was.

By the time their seven tries had run out, Shane, William and Danielle had also raised their brooms. Four other Slytherins had also done it, with the white haired boy also accounting success of the girl with the dimpled chin, without the teacher noticing.

Madame Hooch blew her whistle to indicate the end of the time, also calling the attention back to her. Hiccup squeezed on more 'up' to his broom, to no avail, during the time Madame Hooch congratulated the ones that called up their brooms; she herself levitated the ones still on the floor.

"Remember that if you still have not succeeded, you may always practice again during next class." She belted, right before instructing them to mount their respective broomstick.

Madame Hooch went around correcting the positions of everyone. She had nothing to say to the white haired boy and Hiccup got off easily this time, having been able to find and quickly read a book on flying in between lunch and the class. This didn't seem to bode well with the blonde Slytherin girl from Potions, as she seemed to take it personally and kept shooting him angry looks. Hiccup was starting to feel that he had done something terrible to her without ever knowing.

"Now, when I blow the whistle, kick hard off of the ground. It'll make you lift off the ground." Madame Hooch continued. "Keep your brooms steady. Rise a few feet then come back down by tilting the broom downward slightly. I don't want any accidents. One, two, THREE!"

Hiccup did as instructed. He rose from the ground without any incidents, even if it was a bit lower than he had intended. The wind on his face and the sensation of triumph was exhilarating. It only lasted until a fast flying object from another direction made Hiccup spin and go down. It was the white haired guy that, once again, flew without problems. He even made a couple of flips while Madame Hooch was occupied helping the ones still on the ground.

The class' results were mixed. Opal seemed all too relieved that she had stayed on the ground, while Alexis and Shane had a bit of a false start but soon enough were competing with each other on speed and height. The white haired boy joined without their permission, leaving the duo behind on both accounts. This time, however, he didn't escape Madame Hooch's hawk eyes.

"Frost!" She yelled, making Hiccup remember his name, Jack Frost.

William and the blond Slytherin had both taken off the ground easily but kept themselves true to the teacher's indications. Danielle only managed to take off after Madame Hooch's help and kept spinning around without attempting to try much else. The twins from Slytherin were also on the sky, tugging at each other's tails or hair, until Jack Frost made the girl twirl up to avoid him.

"Frost!" Came again Madame Hooch's reprimand. "It doesn't matter how well you fly, you're still required to take four more lessons!"

Other than lifting off the ground and flying slowly, Hiccup had accomplished little else. Frost's antics had made him switch hand positions and, once he set them right he found out that the broom didn't respond to him. Going through the entire set of positions from the book or the instructions from Madame Hooch proved to bring little in the form of improvement. He just kept there, flying in a straight line while chaffing the grass with his feet. In the meantime, Frost was making stunts all over the place, finally setting himself right in front of Pluto, who had barely taken off. The Slytherin veered easily, avoiding the collision, but that didn't save him from Madame Hooch.

"That's it! Ten points from Slytherin! And get to the ground, NOW!" She yelled.

Frost did as he was bid, giving a bow to everyone, having proven that he was an amazing flyer, apparently without having ever touched a broom before. The Slytherins didn't seem to be fazed that they had just lost points, instead applauding him. The Hufflepuffs weren't as thrilled about it and the usually stone-faced Pluto made sure Frost saw his rude hand gesture, even if Madame Hooch didn't. Frost just laughed it off.

Finally, Madame Hooch blew her whistle and everyone returned to the ground, again with varying degrees of success. The Hufflepuffs talked lightly about their accomplishments or lack of thereof all the way to the greenhouses and trough all of Herbology class.

Hiccup had to admit that it wasn't a very good first try on a broom, especially after seeing all that Jack Frost was able to do. However, it still wasn't a complete loss. He knew where his flaws were now, and it was simply a matter of addressing them in the next lessons. He could now be more specific during his search in the library.

He still had time.

**End of Chapter**

Hello again! I'm not sure if you noticed but I'm not longer using Secondlina's beautiful art as cover. The new one is made by me, so it comes guilt-free. Sorry for the change XD. You can still ask me for the link for the first picture or otherwise look for it on Seconlina's gallery on Deviant Art.

As usual, thank Lily meet Ginny for making my writing readable. See you next time!


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